Patrick Barclay: Crystal Palace are Puncheon above their weight while Manchester City are punching way below theirs

There have been plenty of times, in the career of Jason Puncheon, when his fortunes could have gone one way or the other. And they haven’t always gone the right way. Until now.

In January he missed a penalty — and not in a shy way. He tried to do something clever at White Hart Lane — only he will know precisely the technique he sought to employ with a slice of his left boot — and how the Spurs fans chortled as the ball flew high and wide.

The following week, however, Puncheon scored the only goal in a win over Stoke and ever since he has been an important factor in Crystal Palace’s fight against relegation. Last night he scored the opening goal in the win at Everton that all but confirmed their place in the Premier League next season.

He was also man of the match and, in the absence of Sky champagne, could be assured of a shower of metaphorical gifts from not only Palace fans but those of Arsenal, who, with Everton’s loss, became favourites once more for fourth place and a chance to reappear in the Champions League.

A Croydon boy, Puncheon started with Wimbledon and moved with them to Milton Keynes before joining Barnet, where he did enough to earn a £250,000 move to Plymouth. But he did not settle there or at Southampton, where he lost his place to a 17-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and was loaned out several times.

Among those who kept faith in him was Ian Holloway, who brought him to Selhurst Park for this season, and so convinced was Pulis, who succeeded Holloway in November, that he paid £1.75million to make the deal permanent at the end of the winter window.

So what next? Pulis is warning other clubs to keep away from Puncheon and Roy Hodgson will be aware of that, if suddenly his wealth of wide attackers were to be depleted by coincident injury, he could turn to a fellow son of Croydon without fear of being accused of favouritism.

The transformation of Palace as a whole has been remarkable and, having gazed and listened in awe as their supporters roared them to an opening-day defeat by Spurs at Selhurst, I rejoice in their escape under Pulis, who is Brendan Rodgers’s closest competitor for the Barclays Manager Of The Year award.

Arsenal, in acute danger of a relegation of their own — to the Europa League — until Palace lent last night’s unwitting favour, now have matters in their own hands and can take a four-point advantage over Everton by winning at Hull on Sunday.

Almost as soon as that match finishes, Roberto Martinez’s men face Manchester United in David Moyes’s return to Goodison and could be under severe pressure. But Arsenal must be careful. Not only do their FA Cup opponents still need points to ensure survival, Everton’s team selection and strangely poor performance against Palace suggested a saving of something for the weekend. More clarity fell on the title race, from which Manchester City can almost certainly be removed after the loss of two points at home to Sunderland. For manager Manuel Pellegrini to ascribe this to the defeat at Anfield on Sunday — “we couldn’t take the Liverpool game out of our minds” — was ridiculous.

If it’s true, City’s owners have exceeded the Financial Fair Play regulations for no return and Pellegrini and his players must be the most overpaid bunch in the history of football. And those who accuse Arsenal of lacking mental strength should turn their attention elsewhere.

What a finish it nonetheless promises to be, with Chelsea at home to Sunderland on Saturday evening and Liverpool at Norwich on Sunday lunchtime and then, the following weekend, a potential title decider between the contenders at Anfield. It won’t be settled with the finality of Michael Thomas in 1989. But it could be the key moment of the race.